Erdoğan puts the world on probation – a weekly news review

For Erdoğan, Sweden’s desperation to join NATO is a gift that keeps on giving. Every moment that he keeps Sweden waiting provides the opportunity for him to squeeze further concessions from the Swedish government and from other countries that are also desperate to see Sweden’s accession – notably the United States. This week’s news review focuses on the NATO summit, but also looks, among other things, at threats to Öcalan, developments in the Turkish courts, the dominance of religious cults, Iranian attacks on Kurds in Iraq, and continued pressure from Turkey on North and East Syria.